(Technical Field)
The present invention relates to an object detection apparatus for detecting an object around a moving-object carrying the apparatus.
(Related Art)
Conventionally, a known object detection apparatus, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2014-89077, includes at least one ranging sensor, such as an ultrasonic sensor or the like, mounted in a vehicle to detect an object, such as a pedestrian, an obstacle or the like, around the vehicle, and based on detection results, performs various types of controls, such as actuation of a braking device and notification to a driver, for improving vehicle driving safety.
The object detection apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2014-89077 includes a plurality of ranging sensors mounted in the vehicle to calculate a widthwise position of the object based on the principle of triangulation, where the widthwise position of the object refers to a position of the object in a widthwise or cross vehicle direction perpendicular to a traveling direction of the vehicle. If the widthwise position of the object is within the vehicle width, it is determined that the object has been detected. If the widthwise position of the object is not within the vehicle width, it is determined that the object has not been detected. Performing such a determination process can prevent erroneously detecting an object that is actually less likely to interact with the vehicle as an object that is likely to interact with the vehicle.
When the ranging sensors are used to detect an object, reflections of ultrasound waves of the ranging sensors may vary with object shapes and environments around the vehicle. Resultant variations of the reflections may cause variations in detected position of the object. Thus, despite that the position of the object calculated based on the principle of triangulation is within a range of a vehicle's course, the object may be actually out of the range of the vehicle's course. In such a case, despite that no interaction avoidance control needs to be performed, such avoidance control may be unnecessarily performed.
In consideration of the foregoing, exemplary embodiments of the present invention are directed to providing an object detection apparatus capable of preventing erroneously detecting an object that is actually less likely to interact with a moving object as an object that is likely to interact with the moving object.